Ethics and morality are the foundation for victory in any walk of life. The importance of the schools that nurtures value-based education and prepares them to face the world with confidence, competence, knowledge, and understanding cannot be underestimated. The schools that promote values such as respect, honesty, solidarity, responsibility, ethics, morality and spirituality in the students are able to create empowered, empathetic, and socially conscious leaders in the future.
Today’s youth are the future leaders of tomorrow. Schools need to inculcate the positive values in students from childhood so that they grow up as genuinely exemplary people and become responsible citizens. Marymount School Medellin is one such school that promotes all these wonderful values in the students from childhood itself to create dynamic future leaders. Catalina Guzmán Urrea is the School Head of Marymount School Medellin.
Marymount School Medellin is an international, private, Catholic oriented school with 65+ years of experience educating well-grounded women. The school is organized into four academic sections, Preschool, Elementary, Middle and High School and currently has over one thousand students enrolled. The school is an active member of the RSHM (Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary) Network of Schools promoting exchange programs for students and staff and sharing activities and experiences.
Philosophy and Objectives based on UNDHR
Since 2012, the school ́s students participate in exchange programs to the Global Network schools in New York and Brazil, and the students have been participating annually in the RSHM Network of School sports festival in Europe. The school ́s philosophy and objectives are based on respect, equality and freedom of the students, pillars associated with the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Handbook incorporates the UN Declaration. These statements are implemented in practice and well-known by all school ́s stakeholders.
Marymount strives to educate well-grounded women, and although it strives for excellence, the school respects skills, abilities and struggles of each student. The school is true to its philosophy and objectives. It encourages its students to pursue their dreams and fight for decisions, no matter the struggle or challenges they may face.
Developing Abilities and Competencies
Superior purpose of the school is vocation to serve through education to transform lives. The school is a catholic, independent XXI century learning community of the city of Medellín, with a commitment to service. It contributes to the transformation and innovation of education from participating in the integral formation processes that allow its members to develop their abilities and competencies to their full potential. With a visionary leadership that promotes investigation, innovation, regional, national and international strategic partnerships and the implementation of a state-of-the art pedagogical model.
Creating Responsible Global Citizens
As a school it sets an example delivering to society happy, ethical, socially aware human beings, with the necessary tools to transform the society and face the challenges of the changing world.
Authorities in the school envision that in 2024, it will be recognized as a 21st century learning community, comprised of critical, autonomous, global citizens, responsible and ethical human beings. It will be a school with strong partnerships, international cooperation, innovation and investigation projects with different institutions. The school will be model in educational innovation around the world. It inspires, empowers and accompanies its community.
The school’s Core Values are: Respect, Honesty, Solidarity, Responsibility and Spirituality, having Ethics as the school’s guiding principle.
“Marymount strives to educate well-grounded women, and although it strives for excellence, school respects the skills, abilities and struggles of each student.”
Variety of Learning Opportunities
The school complies and follows the Ministry of Education – MEN curriculum standards and endorses international standards provided for by the University of Cambridge. The school offers a bilingual program, with more than 50% of the curriculum delivered in English, and starting from 5th grade, four weekly hours are taught in French to foster a multilingual policy and enable the students to be competent in three languages by the time they graduate.
The school promotes global citizenship, social emotional learning, innovation and creativity through projects included in the school ́s curriculum and scope and sequence.
Students are encouraged to participate in different academic projects designed and put into practice by all the academic departments, such as Model UN, science fair, celebration of pi-day, participation in spelling bees, storytelling and debate contests, literary contests, interdisciplinary projects and national and international celebrations.
Arts, music and dance are mandatory subjects included in the curriculum, to strengthen artistic and cultural abilities in the students. There is a Learning Center in charge to lead and set guidelines address the needs and differences of all the students enrolled.
Resourceful and Goal-driven Head
Catalina Guzmán Urrea has 20 years of work experience in education as Teacher, Assistant Principal, Principal and Head of Marymount School. Catalina is a wife, daughter and sister. She is dedicated, resourceful and goal-driven educator with a solid commitment to the social and academic growth and development of every child. With interpersonal and communication skills she prioritizes to foster meaningful relationships with students, staff and parents. She is committed to professional ethics, standards of practice and the care and education of young children and teenagers.
Catalina’s Professional Profile:
PhD in Educational Sciences Candidate at the University of San Buenaventura-Medellín;
Master’s in education of the University of San Buenaventura-Medellín;
Specialist in Educational Management of the University of San Buenaventura-Medellín;
Graduate in Early Childhood Education with an emphasis in Mathematics of La Salle University – Medellín;
Well-recognized School
Marymount School Medellin is consistently awarded AAA++ based on the annual ColSapiens Research firm rankings. Results are based on three things – category, according to the ICFES national leaving exams results; quality, as recognized by the Ministry of Education; and international academic accreditation and recognition.
The school has been awarded by the City of Medellín with the “Escuela Gestión Ejemplar 2020” (The City of Medellin Exemplary School Management Award), and with the Most Successful Experience award given to InnovaT, the school department devoted to instil innovative practices in the school. The school had previously been awarded the City of Medellín Most Socially Minded School Award.
Array of Extracurricular Activities
The school has an ample campus of 50,000 sq. mt. with soccer fields, two coliseums, a chapel, an auditorium, offices for all the academic departments, green areas, and a forest. The school offers an array of extracurricular activities, that can be accessed by all the students without extra charge: soccer, basketball, ultimate, skating, dance, cheerleading, choir, drama, piano, school band, ecology club, MUN club, Robotics, among others. They all take place at 3:00 pm after school day is over.
Transforming Society by Exemplary Leaders
The future plan of the school is to continue working on the education of its students to become women who transform society by being empowered, leaders, empathetic, and with social conscience.
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